Market Share, Licensing, and M&A: Three's Company

Executive Summary

Achieving 10% global market share--Richard Sykes' stated rationale for pursuing another merger for Glaxo--won't accomplish what he wants: sustainable profitability. In the first place, pharmaceutical market share is important largely within categories; in the second, M&A works against achieving significant category share. Not only are antitrust authorities likely to force divestitures within categories; but M&A disrupts in-licensing, so far the only proven supplement to internal R&D for creating major players within categories.